Letter: The Global Cyber War and DDOS Ping Attacks

JWR,
For some background, I’ve worked as a UNIX systems administrator for more than 20 years in the financial environment. This background includes working for major bankig and stock mark trading companies. I’m not saying that to impress, I am saying it so you know that I have a good amount of experience in the field.

Although logs and paths can be modified, a significant amount of scanning and denial attacks on both commercial and personal computer systems really does seem to come from Russia, China, and the Netherlands.

Now a layperson may ask: “Why does China care about my PC, my Twitter account, or keeping me from accessing PayPal?” The short answer is that they don’t in most cases. I believe these cyberattacks should be seen in layers, however I must also say that what I discus next is my personal opinion and not the opinion of any company I’ve worked for. (As a side note: I have made this concern known – always getting the tinfoil hat look, in reply.)

What you are seeing are mass scale attempts to deny your personal access to information. In this layer of a cyber attack they don’t really care if a web user can access Facebook, PayPal, BofA or a stock market app. The intention is to prevent you from knowing the status of your accounts and financial information in general. Consider these attacks as test runs and learning on their end.

Why does this matter? Because: Guess where your 3 am banking and stock trade environment backend computer support is located? [Probably in] Hong Kong. Yup, all of your personal and corporate banking information from every major financial company that I know of, all of your 401k and stock market trading info, along with IT infrastructure for those institutions are supported with full access, in glorious China. Yes I know Hong Kong is legally somewhat “wink wink” on their own, and companies hire “bonded” Hong Kong companies to do this kind of support, but that is not the point.

My point is that a denial of access to front end information should be seen as a layer on top of a potential change in backend information. That change possibly being either numeric or outright data deletion. Yes companies have backups and redundancy, they have methods to address systems and data access issues, but late night (US) support for that is provided by the same people in Hong Kong.

Now I can’t speak for hacking= at a “television” layer but I would not be surprised if satellite and cable companies are having similar issues with either backend support or direct hacking attempts.

I am not saying put your cash in your mattress and close your accounts. I don’t. I have money in different banks, and in a 401k along with a few stocks. But I also have hard currency and items that are good for trade. A mass cyber attack that includes both a denial of access to your financial information along with mass backend hacking of that information would result in a complete destruction of the global financial system including the the financial state of the attack originating country. What I am saying is that the risk really is significant and to plan accordingly. – Best wishes from Bob in N.C.JWR Replies: Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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James Wesley Rawles

James Wesley, Rawles (JWR) is Founder and Senior Editor of SurvivalBlog, the original prepping /survival blog for when the Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF). He began SurvivalBlog in 2005. It now reaches more than 320,000 unique visitors weekly.
JWR is a journalist, technical writer, and novelist. His survivalist novel Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, is a modern classic that reached #3 on the New York Times bestsellers list. Two of his other novels have also been best New York Times bestsellers.
Jim is the originator of the American Redoubt movement and a frequent talk show guest on shows such as Alex Jones. He is also a retreat consultant specializing in off-grid living, rural relocation, and survival preparedness.

Hugh James Latimer

Hugh James Latimer (HJL) is the Managing Editor of SurvivalBlog, the original blog for prepping and survival for when SHTF, where he manages the blog's day-to-day operations, applying his diverse technical, management, and editorial expertise.
HJL earned college degrees in engineering, metallurgy, and education and has worked as Technical Editor for five international technical journals and as an engineer for Sandia National Laboratories. His deep scientific background ranges from aerospace engineering to systems administration and owning his own technology-intensive business.
HJL is a firefighter/EMT, and Ham radio operator. He's a Libertarian, an Eagle Scout, and most importantly a devoted follower of Jesus and the Bible.

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